Last year, Wild.com wanted help from our fans in the State of Hockey and beyond to help us select the Top Play of the Year. To do so, we needed you to pick the Top Plays each week, so we could pit them against each other in the offseason in a single-elimination tournament. We had so much fun, we're going to do it again this year.

This week, some stellar defensive plays will challenge one of the prettier plays thus far this Wild season. As part of his 41-save shutout against Calgary, Niklas Backstrom's diving paddle stop on Curtis Glencross makes the cut of the final three. Backstrom got some help on nominee number two as Nate Prosser somehow kept a Joe Thornton layup out of the net in a game at San Jose. Finally, Cal Clutterbuck's hustle and ensuing no-look pass led to Matt Cullen's team-leading eighth goal of the season: